Container and closure therefor



July 14, 1970 J, w, KlNNAVY ETAL 3,520,440

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Sept. 12, 1968 iiw lHiHlll //v vE/v TORS JAMES w KINNAVY FREDR/CK J. STEC ATT'Y United States Patent O York Filed Sept. 12, 1968, Ser. No. 759,295 Int. Cl. B65d 43/10 US. Cl. 220-60 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A closure lid for a container having an opening defined by an end ring having a rim projecting upwardly from a horizontal ledge and terminating in an outwardly directed curl. The closure lid includes a panel having an upstanding peripheral wall which is received within the opening. Extending from the upper end of the peripheral wall is an outwardly directed flange which overlies the curl in the closed position. Attached to the flange and upstanding wall is a plastic locking member which is formed to provide a locking lip which engages the curl about the opening so as to sealingly retain the lip of the lid member against the curled end and at the same time urge the upstanding wall toward the rim.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to containers and, more particularly, to a new and improved container closure structure.

The closure structure of the present invention is primarily intended for use with a container of the type generally used for storing paint and the like. This type of container typically includes an end ring having an opening. The end ring is fastened to one end of the container and includes a horizontally depressed ledge from which there projects an upstanding rim terminating in a curl.

Heretofore closure lids used with this type of opening structure have included a panel member having a peripheral flange structure of substantially U-shaped crosssection so that the legs of the U were operative to provide walls for resiliently clamping the sides of the ledge and rim and beneath the curl and thereby retain the cover securely fixed within the opening. This type of structure requires careful manufacturing tolerances to achieve the necessary sealing characteristics of the closure lid on the paint can. Moreover, this structure requires either a special opening tool or a tapered tool for prying the lid from the end ring. Of course, the problem of reclosure of the lid after the paint has been deposited in the end ring structure is also prevalent. Under these conditions, the paint frequently adheres to the lid and to the ring in such a manner as to make removal of the closure lid more diflicult than upon initial opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION By the present invention it is proposed to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore and to provide a simple, economic and eifective closure structure for containers having the end ring structure of the above-described type.

This is accomplished generally by the provision of a closure lid including a panel having a peripheral wall seatable within the container opening and terminating in an outwardly directed ring which is adapted to overlie the curled end of the end ring. Attached to the peripheral wall and to the lip is a peripheral locking member having a locking ledge spaced downwardly from the lip a distance less than the width of the curl so that the ring is held in clamped overlying engagement with the curl 3,520,440 Patented July 14, 1970 "ice and also spaced outwardly from the wall a distance such that the latter is urged toward the rim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container showing the closure lid of the present invention seated within the opening thereof;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the closure lid;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the closure lid of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing in particular the manner in which the locking ring coacts with the beaded ring for retaining the closure lid locked to the container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a container 10 including a generally cylindrical body 11. Fixed to the bottom of the body 11 is a bottom closure 12 and to the upper end is an end ring 13. As shown, in particular in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the end ring 13 is substantially annular and is attached to the end of the container 10 by means of double seaming or the like. The end ring 13 includes a lower horizontal ledge 15 which is disposed below a second ledge 16. Extending from the inner end of the lower ledge 15 is an upstanding rim 17 of which the upper end is formed with an outwardly directed curl 18. The rim 17 and curl 18 define an opening 19 through which the contents of the container are introduced and removed from the container 10.

The closure lid or plug 14 of the present invention comprises generally a dish-shaped panel 20 having an upstanding peripheral wall 21 which is seatable within the opening 19 defined by the rim 17 and curl 18. Extending or projecting outwardly from the upper end of the peripheral wall 21 is a substantially horizontal flange or lip 22 which is adapted to overlie the curl 18 when the closure lid 14 is seated within the opening 19.

Attached to the upstanding wall 21 and lip 22 is an annular locking member 24 which is preferably made from a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like. A downwardly opening slot 25 is defined by a downwardly depending inner leg 26 and a horizontal section 27 and a downwardly depending outer leg 28 terminating at its lower end in an inwardly projecting locking lip 29. The locking member 24 is attached to the panel by inserting the upstanding wall into the slot 25 so that the flange 22 abuts against the horizontal section 27 extending between the legs 26 and 28 so that the panel wall 21 lies adjacent the outer surface of the leg 26. The inner edge or wall 30 of the outer leg 28 is inclined inwardly and merges with an arcuate wall 32 on the inner side of the locking lip 29 so as to engage the curl 18 and force the rim 17 into clamping engagement with the upstanding panel wall 21 of the lid 14. The arcuate wall 32 of the lip 29 is spaced from the flange 22 a lesser distance than the thickness of the curl 18 so that the latter is also clamped to the flange 22.

In this connection it is to be noted that in the preferred form of the invention the annular locking member 24 is made from a plastic material such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like and formed by molding. The molded thermoplastic material has a natural or inherent tendency to be resilient such that, when the locking lip 29 is forced over the curl 18, the leg 28 yields outwardly and then snaps into place when the lip 29 clears the bottom of the curl 18. In this manner the curl 18 and the rim 17 are urged into clamping and sealing engagement with the flange 22.

To further insure a seal at the engaging surfaces of the flange 22 with the curl 18 and the rim 17 and upstanding wall 21 respectively, the underside of the flange 22 may be provided with a vinyl organisol or vinyl plastisol coating 30. Similarly, the upstanding wall 21 may also be coated, as shown. The coating 30 is of the puffed type Which is yieldable so as to be compressed upon the insertion of the locking member 24 onto the curl 18. It is also to be noted that the leg 28 and the locking lip 29 are accommodated within the lower horizontal ledge 15 of the end ring 13.

To facilitate the removal of the end closure 14 from the container body 11 there is provided a hand grip member generally designated as 33. As shown, the hand grip member 33 includes a strap 34 of which one end is formed integrally with the locking member 24 and extends diametrically across the latter and is attached thereto by a reduced section to the opposite side so as to be readily separable therefrom. Projecting radially outwardly from the locking member 24 in diametric alignment with the strap 34 is an attachment lug 36. The lug 36 is of substantially T-shaped configuration and is adapted to receive a complementary T-shaped slot 37 formed at the opposite end of the strap 34. Upon separation by breaking at the reduced section 35 of the strap 34 from the ring 13, the latter is turned about itself to the phantom line position to form a loop as shown in FIG. 4 with the slot 37 receiving the fastened lug 36. The users hand can then be positioned in the loop to apply an unward force. In this connection it is to be noted that the upward force is to be applied on the outer leg 28 so that the latter is forced outwardly and upwardly thereby to facilitate the disengagement of the locking lip 29 from the curl 18.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure lid for a container having an opening defined by a rim projecting upwardly from a substantially horizontal ledge and terminating in an outwardly directed curl, said closure lid comprising a panel having an upstanding peripheral wall seatable within said container opening, said upstanding wall terminating in an outwardly directed annular lip adapted to overlie said curl, and a locking member attached to said panel upstanding wall and said annular lip for sealing and locking said lid to said rim, said locking member including a yieldably supported and inwardly projecting annular A locking ledge spaced downwardly from said lip a distance less than the width of said curl so that said lip is held in clamped overlying engagement with said curl.

'2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said Wall is provided with a sealant coating.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said lip surface engageable with said curl is provided with a puffed coating.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said wall is provided with a puffed coating and wherein said lip surface engageable with said curl is provided with a coating of plastisol.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking member is formed from a plastic material.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking member comprises a downwardly extending inner leg engageable with the inner surface of said lid upstanding wall, a horizontal wall projecting from said inner leg and overlying said lip, and a downwardly depending outer leg, said locking ledge extending inwardly from said inner leg.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the inner wall of said outer leg is inclined inwardly and merges with an arcuate wall engageable with the underside of said curl so as to clampingly engage the inner Wall of said horizontal leg against said lip.

8. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein a handle grip means is fixed to said locking member for removing said lid from said container.

9. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein said hand grip means comprises an attachment lug, and a flexible strap fixed to said locking member adjacent said attachment lug, means at the other end of said strap engagable with said attachment so that said strap may be formed as a loop.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,184,096 5/1965 Cheeley 22046 3,325,044 6/ 1967 McCutcheon 2206'O 3,397,814 8/1968 Zackheim 22060 GEORGE T. HALL, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

